


What Lies Beneath

by still_lycoris



Category: X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) - Fandom
Genre: Brothers, Child Abuse, Child Neglect, Gen, Pre-Movie, Rescue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-25
Updated: 2017-03-25
Packaged: 2018-10-10 10:43:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10435932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/still_lycoris/pseuds/still_lycoris
Summary: Set pre-Apocalypse. Scott tries not to miss the life he had before his parents died.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is loosely based on Scott's comics past. Well, part of it anyway ...

Scott slumped down onto the floor of his room and hugged his knees to his chest, trying to warm himself up.

Really, he ought to get into the bed but it was too much effort right then. The bed was cold and felt dirty anyway. He’d tried to wash the sheets in the sink the other day but it hadn’t really come out right – and then it had been damp on top of that. Even though that had been a few days ago, it still felt damp and horrid to him and he just didn’t want to.

Mr Winters didn’t really care anyway. As long as Scott was quiet and didn’t get in the way, he didn’t care what Scott did. Although if he did come in and find Scott on the floor, he might get mad. You never knew what might make him mad.

Scott didn’t want him to get mad.

He hugged his knees tighter, closing his eyes. It hadn’t always been like this. He remembered that once, he’d lived in a house that had been warm, that there had been hugs and cuddled and ... love. He’d had parents then and he’d had Alex. Not that he remembered Alex very well. Alex had been much older and had gone away before his parents had. But he had been tall and occasionally fun and Scott remembered that he’d given Scott a hug the last time that he’d seen him.

He shoved the thoughts away. There was no point thinking about any of that. His parents were dead and Alex had gone. Scott didn’t remember them very well anyway. There was just this now. If he was good, it was okay really. Mr Winters wasn’t always so bad. He fed Scott, didn’t he? He fed him and gave him somewhere to stay and that was good because without them, he wouldn’t have anybody else, he’d be out on the street, he’d be all alone ...

There was a banging noise. Scott jumped to his feet immediately, half-expecting Mr Winters to come into the room but then he realised that no, it wasn’t his door, it was the front door. It didn’t help very much. If people were coming to visit late, that usually meant they were picking a fight with Mr Winters and if they were picking a fight with Mr Winters, he might get angry with Scott because Scott was there and it might be Scott’s fault, so many things were Scott’s fault ...

His eyes itched. They always itched when he was getting scared these days. Scott didn’t know what to do about it. He couldn’t tell Mr Winters. Mr Winters wouldn’t care. He just kept blinking until he had pushed it away and that tended to work but it made him look like he was crying and he wasn’t. 

Scott didn’t cry any more.

He stood, tense and alert as he heard Mr Winters shamble over to the door and open it.

“What do you want?” he said, his voice muffled.

“My name is Alex Summers. I’m looking for Scott Summers.”

Scott heard the words but they didn’t really mean anything. Not really. It couldn’t _really_ be Alex. He’d gone away to war, gone away forever, Mr Winters had said. Alex didn’t like Scott anyway, not that much because Scott was so little. He wasn’t really here. It was a trick of some sort. Something awful.

“No one called Scott Summers here,” Mr Winters said, which was a strange lie to tell really.

“Oh yeah? You won’t mind if I just take a look, will you?”

“Get out of my house!”

Scott shrank back from the door, cowering. Mr Winters was getting angry. He didn’t like it when Mr Winters got angry, nothing good ever, ever happened and he’d be in trouble, he was always in trouble and his eyes hurt, they really, really hurt ...

“Scott?”

Light spilled through the suddenly open door. He looked up, trying not to shake with obvious fear. Fear was a bad idea. Nothing ever got better if they could see you were afraid.

The man at the door ... was Alex? He could be Alex, Scott supposed. It was hard to remember Alex’s face now. It had been so long ago. He remembered blond hair and strong arms. This man had had short blond hair and was staring at Scott, his face pale.

“Hey little brother,” he said and his voice sounded the same. Still like Alex. Scott couldn’t help wondering if it was a trick. Something that Mr Winters had done because he thought it was funny. Something terrible ...

“You look cold.”

Alex was looking around his room, his nose wrinkling. Scott wanted to explain that he tried to keep it clean, that he did try but there wasn’t very much to clean it up. He took off his jacket and draped it around Scott’s shoulders. It was warm, soft. Scott wanted to snuggle into it.

“Come on,” Alex said. “Get anything you want. We’re leaving.”

Scott stared at him. How could it be so easy? How could Alex just say those words as though they could just go?

Mr Winters was glaring at them, shaking his head.

“He’s not going anywhere,” he said. “How do I know you’re even his brother, huh? You could be anyone.”

“I’m his brother,” Alex said flatly. “And you’d better not try and stop me taking him. You’ll be sorry if you do. C’mon, little brother. Nothing you want? We’re going then.”

He took Scott’s shoulder, gently pushing him forward. Scott walked, watching Mr Winters warily. Sometimes when Scott walked past, Mr Winters would take a swing at him just because he could. You couldn’t relax until you’d got past him, even when Mr Winters was in a good mood and right now, he was clearly angry because Alex was just ignoring him like he was nothing and Mr Winters didn’t like that ...

Mr Winters moved suddenly, making a grab at him. Scott shrank back, hunching over, bringing his arms up to protect himself – 

There was a bright red flash that seared Scott’s eyeballs. Mr Winters gave a scream of pain and when Scott blinked away at the lights, he saw that Alex was holding out his hand and Mr Winters was doubled over, clutching his arm. There was a terrible smell, like something was on fire and Alex’s hand was shimmering with red, red heat.

“Don’t touch my brother.”

Alex’s voice was flat. Mr Winters stepped back from them, face pale. He looked small suddenly, small and even ... scared.

“You’re one of them! You’re a _freak!_ ”

“Mutant,” Alex said. “That’s the word you’re looking for. Mutant. Don’t. Touch. My. Brother.”

He was still gently pushing Scott out as he spoke. Scott kept staring at his shimmering hand. The energy was red and pulsing and Scot found himself vaguely remembering someone saying that Alex was different. He hadn’t really thought about that. He hadn’t really thought about any of this for a long time.

Mr Winters didn’t try to grab him. He didn’t try to say anything. He stood there, hugging his arm, just watching as they walked out. He was hunched over in a way that was familiar.

Scott wasn’t sure how he felt about it.

He wasn’t sure how he felt about anything.

“You’re safe now,” Alex told him as they walked out into the night. “I know some people who can take care of you, adopt you. They’re good, they’ll take care of you. No one’s ever gonna hurt you again. You’ll be safe.”

Safe? Scott hadn’t been safe in forever and now Alex was just showing up and saying that he was safe? It made him feel weirdly angry and he didn’t know why. He tried to push it away. He shouldn’t be angry. He was away from Mr Winters. He was with Alex again, his big brother who was ... well, had talents that Scott certainly hadn’t remembered. Things would be better now if he didn’t have to be scared, if Mr Winters wasn’t there ...

His eyes itched again. Scott pushed it away.

He was good at that now.

Alex hadn’t lied to him. He took him to a kind couple, people who took him in, gave him a nice bedroom that was warm and smelt good. They looked after him, even when Alex couldn’t be there. They all three told him that he could forget about what had happened and Scott tried.

But some things were hard to keep buried.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for 40fandoms


End file.
